Food delivery service Coupang Eats will drastically hike delivery incentives for veteran delivery workers in a trial next month amid growing competition to secure more drivers.

In a recent announcement to a select group of its drivers, the company said seasoned delivery workers can claim up to 6,500 won ($5.79) per delivery, more than double the regular delivery fee of 2,500 won given to Coupang Eats drivers per delivery.

To receive the higher “Legend” wage, workers must have carried out over 500 deliveries, delivered during peak hours more than 36 times, and completed over 9 in 10 deliveries they were assigned to during the previous month.

The move comes as competitors such as Baemin and WeMakePrice have announced its drivers would deliver one order at a time to keep the food fresh – a policy first championed by Coupang Eats in Korea in 2019.

The new reward system, which also offers 6,100 won and 5,900 won per delivery for “Epic” and “Master” drivers, will “stabilize” the incomes of delivery workers and “maximize” their profit, the company explained.

Earlier this month, Coupang Eats also introduced a three-strike policy in an effort to prevent cherry-picking orders. The rule is designed to see delivery workers permanently removed from the app’s roster if they receive three warnings for refusing to take on a delivery order too many times.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)